A Crisis of Literacy, A Crisis of Lives in PA
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, and for my family, it is not just a line on the calendar; it’s our daily reality. Dyslexia affects 20% of the population and represents up to 90% of all learning disabilities, according to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. It is the most common neurocognitive disorder, yet in Pennsylvania, too many children go undiagnosed and unsupported. The result isn’t simply poor reading scores: it’s shattered confidence, lost opportunities, and in the hardest moments, despair.
I know this reality all too well. I am the mother of two children with dyslexia. My son Aidan is bright and determined, but despite years of special education services, he graduated high school reading at the fifth percentile. In trade school, his optimism crumbled. One rainy morning, during his first semester, he called his father in tears and confessed: “Saturday was almost my last day ever.” He wasn’t failing because he lacked effort; I saw how hard he worked. He was failed by a system that never gave him the instruction he needed to succeed.
This is not just my family’s story. It’s Pennsylvania’s crisis. Research confirms what parents know: unaddressed reading struggles have devastating long-term effects. A University of Toronto study found that individuals with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, have a 46% higher risk of attempting suicide. Another study found that students in special education were more likely to attempt suicide than even those in juvenile justice or child welfare systems. These outcomes don’t happen because children lack ability; they happen because the system failed to meet their needs.
But here’s the good news: we know what works. States like Mississippi and Louisiana – once near the bottom in reading outcomes – invested in evidence-based, structured literacy instruction grounded in the science of reading. Within a decade, Mississippi became the fastest-improving state in fourth-grade reading, and Louisiana jumped from last place to 16th. These gains didn’t happen by accident; they happened because leaders made literacy a priority.
If Mississippi and Louisiana can do it, so can Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Branch of the International Dyslexia Association, Decoding Dyslexia PA, and the Pennsylvania Literacy Coalition – a network of over 60 cross-sector organizations across the Commonwealth – are calling on lawmakers to act now, to deliver on a promise that should be guaranteed but is too often reserved for the few: the right to learn to read. By prioritizing evidence-based curricula, teacher training, and universal screening, we can change the trajectory of tens of thousands of children’s lives.
The cost of inaction is staggering: $113 billion in lost potential every year to our state’s economy. That number doesn’t reflect what children “can’t do”; it reflects what our systems have failed to provide. The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity warns that children with dyslexia who don’t get help are more likely to suffer depression and anxiety, drop out of school, and struggle with unemployment. Studies also show disproportionately high rates of dyslexia among incarcerated populations. These children are not broken; the system is.
As a mother, I live with the consequences of Pennsylvania’s failure. As an advocate, I cannot accept that this is the best we can do. With bold leadership from the General Assembly, Governor Josh Shapiro, and the Department of Education, Pennsylvania can be the fastest-improving state in reading outcomes over the next decade.
The question is not whether it’s possible. It is. The question is whether we will act before more children slip through the cracks, more families suffer, and more lives are lost to educational neglect.
